For Aqua
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I'm enjoying retirement while spouse is a productive member of society - Associate Professor at the U of I Medical School. She's finishing up one grant and working on another for the next 5 years. We'll see if she retires after that.
I'm still running - actually running a couple of races next month since I'm in a new age group where there's only 3-4 people - which means I will probably get a medal every time. I'm at the participation trophy time in life.
I'm reading (audiobooks) - and forget them about 2 weeks later - so soon I can read the same 3-5 books several times without having to buy new.
On the piano, I'm working on Faure's Pavane after finally plodding through Bach's Conatrapunctus I from the Art of Fugue.
Down to one owl finch - and 2 male guppies - so pets are on the decline.
Other than that - the house resembles the last days of Xanadu from Orson Welles' Citizen Kane. - too much art, too many books, too much.
You will live to 100 or more! You're doing all the right things. ( I am not!)
I am currently addicted to audiobooks, and I love it. Our regional library system has thousands of audiobooks. No, I will not admit to how many hours per week I listen. LOL
Pets are on the decline here, too. I have only one treefrog left. Even my beautiful Blue is gone. She's on the left, and Poppy is on the right. I still have my Poppy boy.
Best Blue pic ever. She channels her Aqua side. I don't know where she got that sassy attitude.
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@LuFins-Dad said in For Aqua:
Nvidia? That’s a fad…
I think I said that in 1999 when I bought a GeForce 256. If I'd spent the money on Nvidia shares instead I'd be retired now.
@Doctor-Phibes
Retired and rich! -
Well, I had 12 trees cut down around my place as of Tuesday afternoon, necessitating a big clean-up project. My vegetable garden is in-be-twixt right now, with the only thing making are the bell and banana peppers, but I've got mustard greens and cabbage up. Carrots get planted in October.
The wife got her MRI report on her shoulder today (previous rotator cuff surgery, five anchors, about 90 days ago) that she messed up again when my hot water heater decided to spring a leak a week ago. The MRI list six problem areas, from tendon tears to etc. Next step is a big question.
My granddaughter and I are knocking heads over piano lessons. She's got the talent (timing, natural ear and sight reading), but she's into everything...Martial arts, jazz dance lessons, soccer, basketball at the end of soccer, girl scouts and probably something else I forgot about. Too busy for a third grade kid.
Me? Oh, I just chug along. Just another MAGAt in fly-over country, living and dying with the Tigers and the Saints...
@Jolly
We have had about that many trees taken down at our property, too. Hubby had the enormous walnut trees cut for lumber. Holy cow, it's a LOT! The walnut trees were about 125 years old, maybe more. Huge trees, and one had a bit of rot. I will not miss the thousands of walnuts every year that the squirrels would plant, and I would have to pull.Also had several dead pines removed, another couple of trees near the power lines, and much trimming. We did the cleanup. I love my truck!
Your poor wife! Shoulder pain is so awful. Tell her I am sorry she is having such troubles. Give her a gentle hug from me.
Granddaughter will eventually winnow her interests. It sure would be nice for her to keep the piano in the mix of activities. She can keep that going for a lifetime of enjoyment. I'm sure she noodles around on your piano. Maybe give her the option of trying some lessons. She might get hooked, and it would help her decide which activities to keep. She's old enough to decide what she wants to keep doing.
You're a good grandpa to notice what she likes, and to talk with her about the piano.
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@brenda great to see you here again!!! :woman-heart-woman:
Hello TG! Good to know you are still here, too.
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Hi Brenda!! Great to “see“ you 
. Marko and I became grandparents about 3 1/2 years ago and loving it. I took an early retirement but started a new job 180 degrees different from the old. Hoping to retire for real at some point. Hope you have time to stop by more often and stay awhile -
Great to see you here Brenda. Exciting to hear the kidos good news....(at some point, does she become the adult-o?)
Fun to read everyone elses updates too. Kids moving forward in life...retirements, etc!
@kluurs You should be aware if you aren't already...As the ages go up, only the fast ones keep running, so the AG wins aren't any easier....Enjoy them when you get em!
I mentioned in another thread, I'm grandpa now, so this is how I spend a lot time these days:
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I'm sorry to hear about the froggos. They were a TNCR mascot for a while.
“I am fond of pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.” ~Winston S. Churchill
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I looked at @brenda's frog pictures and I looked at @Rich's grandchild picture; from the facial expression I get the sense they may be kindred spirits!
Also many congratulations to @brenda's kiddo's many accomplishments, and curious about her doctoral dissertation ... are you at liberty to say what the topic or title is, or maybe share the abstract?
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Excellent. Would make a good tattoo!
Good to hear from you, brenda! Great to hear about kiddo, sounds like she already loves it!
Please love yourself.
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Hi Brenda!! Great to “see“ you . Marko and I became grandparents about 3 1/2 years ago and loving it. I took an early retirement but started a new job 180 degrees different from the old. Hoping to retire for real at some point. Hope you have time to stop by more often and stay awhile
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Great to see you here Brenda. Exciting to hear the kidos good news....(at some point, does she become the adult-o?)
Fun to read everyone elses updates too. Kids moving forward in life...retirements, etc!
@kluurs You should be aware if you aren't already...As the ages go up, only the fast ones keep running, so the AG wins aren't any easier....Enjoy them when you get em!
I mentioned in another thread, I'm grandpa now, so this is how I spend a lot time these days:
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@Jolly
We have had about that many trees taken down at our property, too. Hubby had the enormous walnut trees cut for lumber. Holy cow, it's a LOT! The walnut trees were about 125 years old, maybe more. Huge trees, and one had a bit of rot. I will not miss the thousands of walnuts every year that the squirrels would plant, and I would have to pull.Also had several dead pines removed, another couple of trees near the power lines, and much trimming. We did the cleanup. I love my truck!
Your poor wife! Shoulder pain is so awful. Tell her I am sorry she is having such troubles. Give her a gentle hug from me.
Granddaughter will eventually winnow her interests. It sure would be nice for her to keep the piano in the mix of activities. She can keep that going for a lifetime of enjoyment. I'm sure she noodles around on your piano. Maybe give her the option of trying some lessons. She might get hooked, and it would help her decide which activities to keep. She's old enough to decide what she wants to keep doing.
You're a good grandpa to notice what she likes, and to talk with her about the piano.
Granddaughter will eventually winnow her interests. It sure would be nice for her to keep the piano in the mix of activities. She can keep that going for a lifetime of enjoyment. I'm sure she noodles around on your piano. Maybe give her the option of trying some lessons. She might get hooked, and it would help her decide which activities to keep. She's old enough to decide what she wants to keep doing.
I hope so. I pay for her lessons and she's been taking them for about a year. The only thing standing between her and playing well are practice and concentration. She has my wife's old piano at her house, so instrument availability is not an issue.
Things change with kids, but right now she's a fast burner. She's as athletic as most kids two years older than her. She's either the top or second student in her grade at parochial school.
She just wants to do too much.
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@Mik
Now it's birds. We have a flock of young Cedar Waxwings here at the fountain right now.Did I post pics of the new fountain? I don't think so.
Big project for hubby and me. Did it all ourselves.
Drainage pond under the stone floor of the fountain. Has a water reservoire and recirculating pump with a float to add water automagically as needed.
Bluestone slab floor that we cut and installed. Pedestal base was so heavy we rented a forklift to place it. You can see the tow straps. I removed the boxwoods and replanted them in the open area of the low hedge.
Built a low wall using some granite stones reclaimed from old tunnels in St. Paul.
Used more cut bluestone for flat areas of the fountain. The small birds love the flat stones, the larger birds love the small bowl at the top.
Funky leaf imprints in the bluestone.
In place!
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I have a bunch of frogs growing up in my side yard under the fig trees. I always think of Brenda when I see them. They are growing slower than I expected.
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I looked at @brenda's frog pictures and I looked at @Rich's grandchild picture; from the facial expression I get the sense they may be kindred spirits!
Also many congratulations to @brenda's kiddo's many accomplishments, and curious about her doctoral dissertation ... are you at liberty to say what the topic or title is, or maybe share the abstract?
@Axtremus
Thanks, Ax! PhD is in computer science. I won't post the dissertation, but can tell you it's about optimizing speed for super computers. It's based on kiddo's work on the new super computer that was installed at the Argonne National Lab near Chicago. (Hi, George!)Kiddo made it go faster! So much so that Argonne asked for more time to have another internship with kiddo. They're speed freaks as is kiddo!
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